Recuerdos de mi ninez

In my Spanish class (Spanish 5, thank you very much), my teacher said we had to write an essay about childhood memories. I spent a lot of time at my grandma's house, therefore my essay focused on that. I thought I'd share some of my memories. I wrote this out last night as I was brainstorming my essay because I'm a nerd, like that.

My grandma had a really cool french fry making machine and so everyday about 2:30 she'd tell my sister or me to run down to the storage bin under the refrigerator and bring up 2 potatoes. Then she'd make french fries for us. They were sooo good!!!

I remember watching "American Gladiators" with my grandma and sister.

I remember my grandma always rooting for the Minnesota Vikings.

I remember my grandma always used to say "gee my crimeney."

I remember all the ducks my grandma used to have, a pheasant, a goose named Henrietta that she'd let out of the pen everyday to roam her property, 3 dogs (a dalmation named Fritz, Smokey (named after Smokey the Bear) Australian shepard, and Norweigan Elkhound named Kia), and tons of cats.

I remember my grandma's 5 turtles... only one had a name. His name was Herman and he was orange.

I remember my grandma's parakeet Danny and the other bird BB, which is the reason I'm scared of birds. There... I'm not too chicken to admit it.

I remember every Friday morning my grandma would water all of the plants in the house (there were LOTS) and clean out the bird's cages.

I remember helping to clean BB's cage many times, he'd come out of the cage, I'd try to pet him and he'd bite me, then he'd fly when the cat came in the room, and flew after me a few times.

I remember my grandma used to have BB trained to walk up her fingers, arms, and stuff like that.

I remember the cats Blackie and LuLu and how they lived in their pins in the barn and were let out during the day. I remember LuLu was a fat cat with a stumpy tail.

I remember it snowed just for a few minutes when I was about 4, I noticed it when we were in the house. My grandma said we could go out and play in the barn and watch the snow. The only problem was my sister refused to put her jacket on, so by the time we got out to the barn the snow stopped.

I remember during a bad thunderstorm when I was about 5, my little ride on red car was outside and we had to put it away before it rained. My grandma told me to go round up my toys to put them in the shed, I did, I remember running VERY fast and then tripping and falling on the yellow wooden planter outside the rec room and I got a huge scar on my leg, which is still there above my knee cap today. It's not so big now... maybe an inch long now.

I remember sitting watching Prime 9 News at 12:00 with Paula Lopez, Kerry Kilbride, and Diane Barone. (Later Kerry and Terri Merriman) My grandma always used to comment on Kerry Kilbride's eyes and how beautiful they were.

I remember spending MANY nights at my grandma's house when I was little when my parents were getting their teaching credentials and taking night courses. We'd spend the night at my grandma's often times. It was sooo fun!!! We'd go to Jack in the Box or something and get food, bring it home, watch TV. At 7:00p.m. it was Jeopardy and time for candlelight. We could not miss Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune. My grandma always had candles around. She'd light the candles, turn off the light, she'd sit in the chair in the bedroom, then my sister in I would sit at the kitchen tables with the candles in the dark snacking on Cheetos, Fritos, or strawberries dipped in whipped cream or chocolate. At 8:00p.m., the lights came on, then KCAL 9 News came on. At 8, we also got our baths and there was always a fight whether my sister or I would blow out the candles. Then we'd get our baths afterward. My grandma would always supervise... give us a bath cloth and soap, tell us to lather it up, then wash ourselves, then we had to wash behind our ears, get all the toe jam out, and stuff like that.

I remember one Saturday night about 1997 I'm guessing, we were watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, then my grandma asked what we wanted to watch. Howard Stern's show Private Parts was on. I remember standing over at the TV trying to turn on USA to watch it. My grandma sat in the room with her chair and said no, that it would make her sick to see a guy's private parts. I later found out it was his biography, and yes, I have watched it.

7-UP is the cure for EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING. Upset stomache, headache, anything. 7-UP, 7-UP is a wonder drug. 7-UP and crackers. My grandma recommended 7-UP to everyone and would pass it out to people like it was holy water. She still swears by it today.

I remember that my grandma always pronounced everything like they do from West Virginia. Saturday is Saredee. Washington is Warshington. Wash is warsh. Envelope is involope. Tuesday is Toosdee. Monday is Mundee. Thursday is Thursdee. Interested is enterstid.

I remember going across the street to the shopping center with my grandma practically everyday to eat, shop, or something. We'd j-walk across the street since my grandma liked the exercise from having to run across the street and dodge cars. She'd push the stroller with my sister in it and I'd walk along next to her.

I remember what was supposed to be my first day of 1st grade. We were spending the night at my grandma's house because my parents had night school. It was too crowded with my sister, grandma, and I on the same bed, so she woke up about 4:30a.m. and fell off the bed. I was completely asleep and didn't wake up until about 6:00a.m., my sister got my grandma a cover to sleep on the floor and my grandma just told my sister she was just going to sleep on the floor. Then when my grandma woke up she told me she didn't feel well and to call my dad. I called my dad (and it was his first day of work at a new school, which he was late for and got in quite a bit of trouble since he came to help my grandma), then 9-1-1, then my grandpa. I remember my grandma was in the hospital for several weeks and we'd go visit her at the military hospital. My grandpa stayed at her house the whole time she was in the hospital. She broke her hip.

I remember I got the citizen of the month award for that in the month of September in 1st grade and my teacher told everyone what a heroic thing I did.

I remember when my grandma fell while out working in the yard by the swing and fell onto a rake and stabbed her in the chest. I remember she called my mom at work, then my mom picked my sister and I up from school like 1:00p.m. and we went to the ER. I remember this was when cell phones were first became available to the public and so expensive, but my parents had them because they got a special deal on them for being teachres. I remember calling my dad at work trying to tell him where we were.

I remember when my grandma broke her arm. I don't remember how. I remember she had the meanest cast I'd ever seen on someone and all the pins in it. I remember she had a walker at the time and this was the first time my aunt from Nor Cal started her yearly visits.

I remember my grandma going bowling every Thursday morning. I remember standing on the back porch waving at her in her truck as she drove by.

I remember going to the military base with my grandma and we'd go the scenic route through the military housing. There was always tons of wildlife in that area... roadrunners... foxes... cranes... rabbits... everything and so we'd go really slow and look. I am so sad they have demolished all the military buildings recently to make room for some development.

I remember going to the military base every Thursday with my grandma to go the BX and commissary (I love that word... commissary). I loved how I'd always get to pick out the cookies and cereal for my grandma.

I remember my grandma's truck's name was Jenny and Jenny needed oil every morning. When Jenny wouldn't start, which was often, my grandma would sit there turning and turning the key in the ignition.

I remember it seemed like every Thursday when my grandma went bowling she'd get the truck tuned up with Merv.

I remember her saying practically every week that Jenny needed a tune up, then she'd say how great it was running every week.

I remember always asking my grandma why the radio in her truck didn't work. It had a speaker randomly sitting on the floor of the cabin.

I remember packing the back of the truck with groceries with my grandma and she'd insist we arrange them so they don't fly away.

I remember we'd take all the groceries upstairs to the kitchen, put them on the table, then use the paper bags to make a fort over by the kitchen door.

After the truck was unloaded my grandma would always take me and my sister for a ride in the back of the truck. We got to ride in the back of the truck and we'd crawl in the opposite direction she was driving. My grandma would drive forward in the driveway and then backward. She'd always ask how fast she was driving backward in the driveway for us since she couldn't see, but the speedometer wouldn't show, then she'd argue with it and say it was wrong, she was driving really fast. (My grandma has a LONG circle driveway).

I remember the 2 or 3 times in 20 years my grandma drove her Cadillac. I remember the car had a strange leather smell to it.

I remember nobody could drive my grandma's truck except her... not even my mom. I remember my mom's car broke down once and she needed to get to her hair appointment. My grandma was soooo upset about us not having a spare car for my mom to drive and how she needed the truck. There was a big argument between my mom and grandma, my mom won, got to drive the truck. My grandma drove up to our house, then since the truck only seats 3 my mom and sister rode in the cabin, then my grandma and I laid down in the back of the truck talking while my mom drove us back to my grandma's house so she could go get her hair done.

I only remember my grandma coming up to our house 2 or 3 times in my whole life. That was one of them. The 2nd was when I got a key to our house and I forgot my homework one morning, so she came up and came in with me. The 3rd time was when we cared for her in the summer of 2005 when she was sick.

I remember walking to school every morning with my grandma and sister since she lived down the street from the school. I remember how my grandma knew practically every parent at the school it seemed because they always saw her around with us and how she was always at the grocery store or drug store across the street from her house.

I remember about 4-6 grade my grandma drove us most mornings. Every morning about 8:00a.m. she'd go out to the garage, put oil and transmission fluid in the truck, then Jenny would warm up, and we'd leave about 8:30.

I remember my grandma used to flirt with the custodian at the school every morning since we'd get there as he was opening up the gate to let parents drop off their kids... she'd bring him oranges, lemons, stuff like that. She was not afraid to tell him he was hot and had beautiful blue eyes... there was quite an age difference between grandma and the custodian...

I remember my grandma had a video of Elvis Live in Las Vegas. My grandma was a HUGE Elvis fan. The video started out with him singing "are you looking for troubles...?" My grandma would say "yeah man!!!" Then Elvis said "well you came to the right place" and my grandma would dance around and try to look down the TV screen to see Elvis' tight pants. She'd only watch the beginning of the tape, but watched it a lot. Anytime my sister and I wanted to watch a VHS tape Elvis came out first.

I remember I hated Thanksgiving when I was young. My grandma ALWAYS made my sister and I sit at the little kids table next to the oven. ALWAYS. We got to sit at the grown up table the rest of the year, so why was Thanskgiving different? I don't know. I remember that made me so mad I tore down the screen separating the bedroom and the kitchen... it was never replaced. I also remember my grandma would always close the screen when we were little on Thanksgiving and Christmas because she insisted she needed to have a talk with the grown ups and my sister and I couldn't be in the room.